Research Forum Spring Term 2013

In Search of a Pulse - Chinese Conceptual Art of the 1990s

Seminar

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

18.00, Research Forum South Room, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN

"1991, artists from Yuangming Yuan artists' village pose for a group photorgaph on the occasion of an exhibition of their works at Beijing University--works shown outside in the university campus square", December 1991, photo by Xu ZhiweiSpeaker(s): Karen Smith (writer and curator)Ticket/entry details: Open to all, free admission Organised by: Dr Wenny Teo (The Courtauld Institute of Art)

The acclaimed Chinese art historian Karen Smith will discuss the lesser-known aspects of conceptual practice in Chinese art of the 1990s. While such works were more difficult to export abroad, they were key to the development of artistic practice and, as a result, to what we see of art in China today.

Karen Smith is a British art historian specialising in contemporary art in China since 1979. She has written widely on the subject for numerous journals and exhibition catalogues, and is the author of numerous artist monographs, including Ma Ke, Shi Jinsong, Jia Aili and others. She has also authored several books on China’s contemporary art scene and its history including As Seen 2 and As Seen 2011: Notable Artworks by Chinese Artists (published by Beijing World Publishing Corp., 2012 / Commercial Press 2012) and Nine Lives: The Birth of Avant-Garde Art in New China (Timezone 8, 2008).

Her curatorial work includes numerous group and solo exhibitions for China's contemporary artists in China as well as abroad, including A Potent Force: Duan Jianyu and Hu Xiaoyuan, at Rockbund Art Musuem, Shanghai (2013), The Real Thing at Tate Liverpool (2007),The Chinese: Photography and Video Art from China at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (2004), Music to My Eyes at Today Art Museum, Beijing (2009), and Subtlety at Platform China (2008), as well as solo exhibitions for Liu Xiaodong, Ai Weiwei and Xu Bing in the US and the UK. She has lived in Beijing since 1992.